This Toxic Gravity
by thai.MI.Pride
Summary: "Be careful. It'll never work. It'll hurt. He'll hurt you. What a delicious, dangerous dance." Moments from Rose and Scorpius's years at Hogwarts. Post-DH, Rose/Scorpius, nextgen
1. sparkling

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes- **I should posting a new chapter every week at the very least for this 10-part collection. The prompt for each of these one-shots is the chapter name. Feels so good to be back. :)

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 1: sparkling**

_Fourth Year_

The spindly gold balance wobbled dangerously and Scorpius held his breath, his face a centimeter away from the pile of glittering gray dust on one side of the balance that was supposedly powdered horn of grindylow. The balance all but perfectly level now, with the grindylow horn dust just _slightly_ above the weighted side. Anyone else would've scooped it up and dumped it in their cauldron quite happily by now, but _nearly_ enough wasn't good enough for Scorpius Malfoy. Potions was one of the three subjects he was better at than Rose Weasley and he'd keep it that way if it was the last thing he'd do. He knew by now that everything had to be done perfectly the first time around, otherwise she would catch up to him, and he couldn't have that happening.

With painstaking care, he took the tiniest pinch of the fine shimmering powder and, still holding his breath, sprinkled the smallest amount at a time onto the balance, watching as the balance tilted minutely into place. The boy smirked smugly and prepared to _very carefully_ transfer the pile of dust into a flask, where he needed to add it to infusion of primrose and swirl before mixing the solution with the rest of his Draft of Clairvoyance. The surface of his crystalline blue potion shimmered and glittered, indicating to him that he'd better hurry up and add the next ingredients. He tilted the platform of the balance so that the dust slid smoothly onto a piece of parchment from which he could transfer the dust cleanly into the flask. Just as he lifted the square of parchment, hunching his back to protect the grindylow horn dust from any wayward breeze that might blow across the dungeon classroom, a voice suddenly sounded next to him, tickling his ear and making him jump.

"Malfoy—"

"_WHAT_?" he snapped. His breath huffed out and what had previously been a meticulously measured-out pile of powdered horn of grindylow became a fine, silvery haze of dust.

"Whoops..."

Scorpius stared in agony at the cloud of shimmery dust floating innocently above the mouth of his flask as Rose Weasley peered over his shoulder.

"Was that your grindylow dust? Uh-oh. I guess you'll have to measure some more out again." The Gryffindor girl spoke nonchalantly but her expression turned alarmed as he glared down at her with livid, icy-gray eyes. "... Or... not..."

"_You—!_" Rose stared up at him as the boy let out an unintelligible stream of profanities at the ceiling. When he ran out of breath he collapsed onto his chair and banged his head repeatedly against the edge of the table.

Rose leaned against the table next to him and watched him nervously for a while. "I don't think that can be very good for your head," she told him timidly. Scorpius stopped banging his head against the table but refused to look up.

"_What_ do you _want_, Weasley?" he snarled through clenched teeth.

"Um," she hesitated. "Nothing. I just—nothing. Just wondering if you had a silver dagger but I—never mind. Forget it." The girl tripped lightly back to her own table behind his.

She'd reached her own happily bubbling cauldron and was bending down to retrieve her ladle from the floor when something whooshed inches past the side of her head and buried itself, quivering, in the wooden table. The silver dagger glinted brightly in the light of the flames under her cauldron.

Rose whipped herself around, several choice words towards a certain Slytherin male on the tip of her tongue, and saw said Slytherin leaning casually against his table, his icy eyes locked on her.

When she met his eyes, she held back the words she'd been about to maul him with. Scorpius's face was cold and intense enough, certainly, but against all odds, the eyes she'd expected to be burning with cold menace merely... sparkled.

Rose looked steadily at the boy for a moment, thoughtful. Finally, she turned, wrenched his dagger from her table with some difficulty and vaguely waved it at him. "Thanks," she threw at him with perfect casualty before proceeding to cut up her gillyweed.

Scorpius allowed himself a rare, small smile and turned back to his balance and jar of fine gray powder.

**.o.O.o.**

**A/N: Virtual cookies for all reviews! I love my reviewers, I really do.**


	2. cocoon

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes – **Cygna, Cassius and Calliope are Scorpius's cousins, daughters of Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. Suffice to say Cygna's of the old-fashioned Pureblood type, and not a very nice person!

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 2: cocoon**

_Second Year—Scorpius_

"Scorpius." I cringed involuntarily. Cygna's commanding voice was unmistakable, even distorted by the bad acoustics in the stone-walled Slytherin commonroom. Sure enough, when I turned in my armchair, I saw my cousin gliding towards me, surrounded by her friends in fifth and sixth years, Cassius by her side. A good majority of them ignored me, choosing instead to gaze haughtily into the middle space.

"Hello, Cygna," I replied automatically. "I thought you were going to Hogsmeade with Calli."

"Calliope is going alone this week. Mother just sent me a new ermine coat and I don't want it to be ruined by the _dirt_ in Hogsmeade." I realised what I'd taken to be the results of an outbreak of deadly rabbit flu draped over Cygna's regal form was. "Anyways, I'm going to go for a walk around the lake. Come join me."

I hesitated. "Well, actually, I have some Potions homework that I should really finish—,"

"Well, come sit outside with us, at least," Cygna told me, a hint of impatience in her voice. "Bring your Potions and do it out there. You've been spending far too much time cooped up in here lately, Scorpius. It's unhealthy."

I'd hardly spent any time "cooped up" in the commonroom at all this year, but I wasn't exactly going to argue with her.

"Oh, all right. I'll be down there in a second," I conceded, with the intention of stalling for a few more minutes just to annoy her.

"I'll wait." Cygna's piercing gaze fixed upon me. Apparently she wasn't having any of that.

With an internal groan I heaved myself up from my seat and trotted upstairs to get the Potions homework I'd already finished.

I glared at Cygna's back as she and her friends dawdled around the edge of the lake, chatting amongst themselves with my two cousins gliding around elegantly at the centre of the pack. The stone bench by the lake that I'd parked myself down on was _freezing_. Inside the castle would be nice and toasty, thanks to the endless numbers of fires, candles, and the Incubation Charm I suspected had been placed inside the rooms. And I was out here, frozen to my bench, on my own, pretending to do homework. It was possibly the closest I've ever come to feeling stupid. To preserve what little dignity I had left, I sat stiffly, still scowling at my cousin's back.

After nearly a quarter of an hour of watching Cygna and her friends socialise, I was beginning to feel like I'd never be able to slouch again when out of nowhere something warm and cushiony slammed into me from behind, bowling me over completely.

"What the—!" I wheezed out, winded. I felt the frozen ground against my front and something that felt remarkably like a child with a comforter on top of me. Then came a familiar laugh and a strand of curly copper hair fell in front of my eyes. "_Rose?_"

Rose sat up next to me, allowing me to roll over to face her. She was grinning mischievously. "You looked like you'd been Petrified, or had died of stuffiness, so I had to make sure you hadn't."

I stared up at her, still bewildered.

"Oh, don't give me that look, Malfoy." She picked up the Potions essay that I'd sent flying as I fell. "Is this that essay on distinguishing essences from extracts? I thought you'd already finished it. I did, but I wasn't quite sure I wrote about all of the points, so I might still have to add a little more. I just couldn't be bothered to do it yesterday. Oh, keep that on." I'd sat up and discovered that she'd left a large knitted blanket around me and had been about to pull it off. "I meant to lend it to you, 'cos you looked absolutely frozen. Do you mind if I borrow this?"

I continued to stare at her, one hand still poised to pull her blanket off of me. It was thick and warm, probably from her using it sometime very recently, but still, out of old habit drummed into me by my family, I felt like getting rid of it as quickly as I could. If any of the Slytherins saw me now... Then again if I did, Rose would be offended.

"Oy, Malfoy." Rose waved my Potions work in front of my eyes. "Do you mind if I borrow your essay?" I shook my head at her, trying not to grin. She eyed me. "What?"

Footsteps came from behind me, purposeful and regal.

"Scorpius, get up." Cygna appeared by my side. Her blue-gray eyes were locked onto Rose. She and I both rose slowly.

The two girls stood facing one another on either side of me. Cygna seemed more cold and queenly than ever. She stood tall and rigid, looking down her nose at the younger, smaller girl, a posse of other Slytherins standing indignantly behind her. There was no one standing behind Rose, yet she stood with just as much dignity, her gaze level, but cool, as she looked back at my cousin.

"Scorpius," Cygna spoke slowly and deliberately, still not looking at me. "We're going back to the commonroom now. Come along."

I glanced around at Rose, wavering. "I—"

"Just go, Malfoy," she told me shortly. Her tone was cold, but its coldness wasn't directed at me. Then she turned and shot me a mischievous, wry smile. "Come and play with me when you want to learn how to have some _real_ fun."

Cassius stiffened and the other Slytherins murmured to one another in scandalised tones. Cygna gave Rose her best disgusted glare. I chanced a small grin at Rose in spite of myself and handed her blanket back to her. She took it and turned away, running back towards castle, her ponytail of curly copper hair streaming out behind her.

_Fifth Year —Rose_

Lily wanted me to come and watch her practice Quidditch, so I went. We've all spoiled her for her entire life, and I wasn't about to break tradition. So I managed to drag myself out of my nice, warm, pillowy bed at _five AM _on a_ Sunday morning _in the_ dead of winter_, stumped down to the commonroom, and allowed myself to be dragged downstairs minutes later by my overly enthusiastic cousin.

Stopping only once along the way to pick up some toast in the Great Hall, Lily somehow managed to get me down to the Quidditch pitch where she promptly ditched me for her broom and Quaffle.

Which is how I found myself sitting with my bum frozen to one of the benches in the Gryffindor spectators' stands at half-past five on a Sunday morning, shivering and cursing myself for somehow neglecting to bring anything warmer than a loose cardigan.

I had also neglected to bring something with me to do, so I occupied myself with watching Lily as she swooped around the empty pitch with her Quaffle. It was too cold even to go back to sleep. The wind blew hard at this altitude and a massive shiver wracked through my spine.

"Comfy, are we?" I heard a voice before something thick and soft completely cocooned me from behind.

I pulled the heavy woolen blanket off of my head and whipped around to find myself looking up at Scorpius Malfoy's smirking face. He quickly pulled his arms away from me and stepped back.

"Oh. It's you."

"Nice to see you, too, Weasley," he replied, that crooked, infuriating half-smile still firmly in place. "I'll go away if you want, but I'll be taking my mother's blanket back with me and it doesn't look as if you'd be very happy to let me."

I eyed him and pulled the blanket more securely around me then turned back to face the pitch. "Sit." Scorpius complied, his long legs carrying him down over the bench with ease before he settled himself beside me. "Why are you up here so early?"

He shrugged. "I didn't actually sleep last night. I was up until three catching up with coursework and then I couldn't sleep so I went out and walked around the castle until I caught sight of Lily dragging you out of the Great Hall."

"Hm." There was a short silence as we both watched my cousin score an excellent goal from halfway across the pitch. Another brisk wind whipped around us, stinging my face, and I sunk further into the blanket. I glanced briefly at Scorpius. "Aren't you cold? I could share."

"Cheers," he said, shaking his head. "But I, unlike some people, had the sense to bring more than just a cardigan with me. Ow." I smacked him across his arm, which was—sure enough—covered by his thick knitted jumper. I only now noticed how nice it looked on him—the gray wool was just the colour of his eyes.

As soon as that thought formed itself in my mind, I gave myself a mental slap to the forehead. That is _not_ the type of thing I should be thinking around Scorpius Malfoy. Ever.

"You're a real morning person, aren't you? Very articulate and verbose in the early hours of the day," he continued teasing me. I contented myself with shooting him a scornful look before turning my eyes away again.

"It's a beautiful morning; I can't understand how you manage to be so uptight now." He spoke again after a moment of silence. I looked incredulously at him from behind the blanket. He caught it and almost smiled again. "I'm being serious. You might want to take a break from trying to be miserable and enjoy it for a while."

I turned away from him again, still determined not to speak. But now that he mentioned it—now that I didn't feel as numbingly cold—it was quite a beautiful morning. From this high up in the stands, we had an incredible view of the Hogwarts grounds. It was still early so the sky was a muted, pale blue glow, and the brisk winter air was very clear. The surface of the lake glittered deep sapphire, contrasting starkly with the pure white of the snow-covered grounds and dense forest canopy. Hagrid's hut in the distance looked like a little toy cabin, the chimney stack cheerfully puffing out a pewter stream of smoke. The castle itself was a silvery majestic mass of stone, rising from the cliff on the shore of the lake. Across its walls, I could see the sparkling of windows illuminated by fires lit by the few people who were awake at this hour. The full force of the school's old-world beauty hit me not for the first time.

I looked over at Scorpius, who'd been admiring the view with me until then. When his steel eyes met mine, I gave him my first smile of the day. He looked slightly startled but gave me a rare smile back. I burrowed back deep inside his mother's blanket, feeling myself melt, and settled in for the morning.

**.o.O.o.**


	3. vengeance

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes – **I've always liked the idea of Malfoy's son being a little bit of an evil genius.

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 3: vengeance**

_Third Year – Scorpius_

He hadn't even been looking for her – certainly he hadn't expected to come across her like this, when all he'd really done was gotten a little lost while trying to find a shortcut to the school library – but there she was. And there he was, in some distant corner of the fourth floor, watching Rose Weasley as she sat with her back turned toward him on the ledge of the window behind a statue of some mad-looking medieval witch embracing what appeared to be a llama in a raincoat.

He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He'd heard quite a lot about the incident that had occurred earlier that afternoon. It had involved Rose, as well as Cygna and Cassius, and something very nasty with a couple of Nifflers. Scorpius could understand Rose's motive in hiding herself away from the rest of the school.

Without really consciously deciding to, Scorpius approached her. Stepping around the statue into her little alcove, he cleared his throat.

Whipping her head around, she hissed, "Fred, I thought I told you to go away!" She faced him fully now, blue eyes and expression fierce.

"I'm not Fred," said Scorpius, bemused.

"Yes, I realised that, but that last part applies to you, too. Leave me alone, Malfoy." She turned away again.

He stood there, still and silent.

She knew he hadn't left the alcove, and after several minutes of enduring this unnerving silence, she finally turned to stare at him.

"Did you, or did you not, hear me? I said to go away."

He ignored her. "I heard about the Nifflers," he said, his voice low, hinting at tenderness, though not quite there entirely.

She picked up on it, though, and her eyes stung suddenly in spite of herself. Something about his straight-forwardness had disarmed her, cutting straight through her defences.

"I drowned them, Scorpius," she whispered, horrified. "They were in that basket, and they made me think that it was something else, and it was your cousins, so I thought – and I just th-threw the b-basket into th-the lake—!"

"I know," he said quietly, seething with rage that was not directed at her. His heart did something funny and painful in his chest as a tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. It was followed by another, and another, and she dashed them away with a hand that shook.

All he could think to do was to sit down beside her, reaching out to clasp her free hand in both of his. They sat close together on the ledge for a moment, silent, and thinking.

The next night found Scorpius slipping quickly and quietly back into his dormitory as the soft chimes of three in the morning slowly died away. After stopping to hastily wash and dry his hands and tuck away his wand, he slipped back into bed and waited.

The whole of Slytherin House awoke not many hours later to the sound of a long, screeching, blood-curdling scream that came from the Slytherin sixth year girls' dormitory. When they all rushed down the hall to see what had happened, they found the door latch melted and useless, locking the girls inside. When finally Abner Vaisey had a rare stroke of ingenuity and knocked the door clean off its hinges with his beater's club, everyone present gave a yell and tried frantically to scramble away as a veritable flood of Nifflers burst from inside and poured out into the hallway, scurrying hurriedly out the various – miraculously – open windows.

Inside the room, they found the sixth year girls all whimpering and cowering from the corners, with the exception of Cygna Zabini, who was lying flat on her back in her thoroughly ruffled-looking bed, locked in a Full Body-Bind Curse, her eyes bulging and petrified as she stared out at them all.

Outside, at the end of the hallway, Scorpius Malfoy gathered up the last straggling Niffler and gently let him out of the window then closed and latched it neatly. Dusting his hands off, he allowed himself a small, satisfied smile before replacing it with a carefully crafted worried expression. He hurried along to carry out his sudden, anxious entry into his dear cousin's dormitory. Sympathetic words were ready on his tongue, but those in his mind were of a sharper variety. _Vengeance was so very sweet._

**.o.O.o.**

**A/N: Keep an eye out for the next chapter, guys! :) **


	4. yellow

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes – **I think Albus and Rose would definitely be BFFs, don't you? :)

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 4: yellow**

_Sixth Year—Rose_

The sun was a bright, buttery yellow in the clear azure sky. The grass was soft, cool and beautifully bright beneath my back and all around me. It was hardly uncalled for, for me to let out a long, satisfied purr in that moment, and I did so.

A small cough that could well have been hiding a laugh sounded from somewhere up in the air on my right.

"If you're going to be coughing all over the place, I'd really rather you went and did it somewhere else," I told my cousin, not bothering to open my eyes.

I sensed Albus grinning. "Oh, I will, kitty. Would you like me to fetch you a bowl of milk while I'm up?"

"I wouldn't bother," came Scorpius's dry comment from my left, much closer than Albus, "Just _Accio _her a fish from the lake or something."

Albus gave another laugh and I bit down on a smile, determined not to let him read any trace of my smugness on my face. It was so very tempting to tell him _I told you so_, but I refrained, as it would just scare him off. Let people insist that Potters and Malfoys could never be friends – I have solid proof to the contrary right here in front of me, though the two boys in question might deny it still.

They enjoyed themselves, going on for a while about my supposed abnormalities. I didn't mind so much. They were having a jolly good time bonding over their mutual delight of tormenting me. Let them do so.

The light was warm and yellow and weightless.

I basked in the sunshine and my victory.

**.o.O.o.**


	5. hazardous

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes – **And I thought to myself, where would the most hazardous place for a Malfoy to find himself in be?

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 5: hazardous**

_Seventh Year – Scorpius_

So this was it. Huh. Well, it didn't look to bad – at least from the outside. Well-worn, in some disrepair, but still generally well-kept and dignified, like a good book worn down by years of being lovingly abused. Even from a distance the Burrow exuded the same irrepressible air of warmth and welcoming that the family who occupied it did.

Not that that was much comfort to Scorpius at that moment.

Self-consciously he smoothed down the unfamiliar collar of his Muggle shirt. Normally, for these sorts of occasions he would've worn dress-robes, but Rose had taken one look at him and smirked, "Don't be stupid." So, obviously, he'd had to change.

She had an arm threaded through his now, and once she felt him slow she turned to look at him.

"Come on, Malfoy, they're all waiting. " She tugged his arm a little, urging him forward.

He cleared his throat, which had suddenly gone very dry. "Right. Yes."

Five steps along, he halted again. With a little _tsk_, Rose swung around to face him, impatience etched across her features. "Malfoy..."

"I know! Just give me a moment, would you?" The words flew out more sharply than he'd intended. Closing his eyes against her slightly hurt expression, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

There was a pause, and then she said, quietly, "It's only my family. I just want them to meet you face to face so they can see for themselves..." She left the sentence hanging.

"I know." He said it softly this time. "Merlin, I don't even know why I'm so damned nervous. It's not as though they'll murder me on sight because I'm a Malfoy." His eyes opened to see her wry smile. "Though it's still entirely possible they might castrate me."

She laughed. "Well, I can't deny it'll be treacherous, but if you steer clear of any bedroom-related topics you should be able to escape the worst of it." Her blue eyes twinkled and he couldn't help but grin.

"Hmm, I think I could've worked that one out on my own, funnily enough. Right, away we go." Sucking in a deep breath, he replaced her hand on his arm and moved forward, eyes fixed firmly on the impending front door. As they reached the front gate and Rose bent to unlatch it, Scorpius scanned the many windows facing them. His stomach seemed to drop like a lead weight as he made out the several pairs of curious eyes peering out of each and every one of them.

Impatient with excitement again, Rose tugged him down the path and right up to the door. With one hand poised on the handle, she glanced up at him one last time. He looked down to see her freckled cheeks were flushed and eyes practically sparkling. With that, he squared his shoulders and gave her a curt nod.

Right on cue, the door swung open, and then there they were.

And there he was.

A Malfoy in a room chock-full of Weasleys and Potters. Gran and Grandpa Weasley, Rose's mum and dad, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Victoire, Dom, Louis, Harry, Ginny, George, Hugo, Teddy, James, Albus, Lily, Roxanne, Molly, Fred... And those were only the ones he could spot at first glance. _How many of them are there?_ They were all there – and all wearing identical, mischievous grins.

Rose's hand slipped into his. His throat and tongue were suddenly sandpaper. He gulped. "Hello."

Rose's father, looking ridiculously tall leaning up against the kitchen doorway, caught his eye and grinned rather wolfishly. "Hello, Malfoy."

_And away we go._

**.o.O.o.**

**A/N: ;) Keep an eye out for the next chapter, lovely readers - things start to get a little heated...**


	6. home

_**This Toxic Gravity**_

**Notes – **Penny in the air…

**.o.O.o.**

**CHAPTER 6: home**

_Christmas of Fourth Year – Scorpius_

As you stride through the mahogany front doors into Malfoy Manor, a shiver wracks through you. _Has it always been this cold?_ Mother urges you to go up to bed – "Sleep a while, darling. It's been a long journey," – but you suddenly crave, not rest, but… _fire_. This craving stays with you throughout the holiday, so that rather than keeping the parents company or riding your broomstick through the forest, you find yourself spending the majority of your time sat in front of the fireplace, watching flames being born and dying in hour-long cycles. Something of the warmth, the light, the flickering crimson curls draws you in, chasing away that feeling of numb emptiness that lurks around the corners of your consciousness – feelings which you become more and more aware of everyday.

Your newfound affinity for fire doesn't go unnoticed – you once turn to find your mother hovering in the doorway of your lounge, watching you in front of the fireplace with concerned blue eyes. Later, as you sit at the dinner table facing the hearth, staring at the now dying embers, you can hear her so faintly murmur to Father, "Something's wrong."

You hear the smirk in his reply. "He's moping – missing some girl, no doubt."

And then everything falls into place in your mind._ Some girl…_

This is all that you're missing.

A servant stokes the embers, adding fuel and bringing life back again.

The warmth, the light, the fiery crimson curls…

_Summer after Fifth Year – Rose_

Ottery St. Catchpole doesn't feel the same anymore. You don't notice this immediately – it's only three or four days after Mum and Dad pick you up from King's Cross that you start to feel as though something vital has changed. The little house your parents built together, the one you were born and raised in, the one who's every beloved inch has been etched into your memory suddenly no longer feels like home. Though everything is as the back of your hand, and it is lovely to be with the parents again, something is missing that has never been missed before.

You find yourself walking into a room and – though it is rarely empty – feeling a small twinge of disappointment as though something you didn't know you were looking for isn't there. Walking through the little garden, the air just to your right feels particularly empty; your right hand flexes, reaching for a ghost.

Even your family's company doesn't appear to fill the gap – not even Albus's. When you're out sitting by the duck pond at the Burrow with him and your school notes (like the massive nerd you are) and you make a horrible and obscure Potions pun, it annoys you to no end to get Albus's puzzled green stare rather than a mocking sneer and reluctant twinkle in steely grey eyes…

OH.

Oh dear.

**.o.O.o.**

**A/N: **…And the penny drops! (I think this one has to be my personal favourite. On a side note, I'm sorry it has been a while since the last post. The next should be up shortly!)


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